


Magic Shop

by valenlimes



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Magic, Fate, Fluff, Fortune Telling, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Summer, fortune teller! donghyuck, mark is grumpy and sleep deprived
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 05:03:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15502902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valenlimes/pseuds/valenlimes
Summary: Mark is sceptical, to say the least, but when Jaemin drags him along to a fortune teller's tent on the first day of summer vacation, Mark is forced to re-evaluate everything he thinks is logical.





	Magic Shop

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the title is a BTS song. I am unoriginal and I felt like a good idea at the time.  
> This one goes out to all my fellow Markhyuck lovers out there! Let me know what you think in the comments and leave a kudos if you enjoyed! 
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. Thank you so much for all the love on my other ffs! It makes me so happy!

“No way Jaemin. I am not going in there.” 

Mark and Jaemin stood on the wooden pier, sun beating down on the back of their necks. Summer holidays were upon them and Jaemin had thought it would be a fantastic idea to plan a ‘day out’ for both Mark and himself. A blissful day away from the scummy college dorms.  
Mark was excited about the idea at first. He was looking forward to a relaxing day at the beach or maybe messing around in the air-conditioned arcade.  
Unfortunately, Jaemin had other plans. 

So, there they stood, sunburned and sweaty, in front of the ugliest thing Mark had ever seen. The purple tent was abnormally large and garishly embroidered with silver stars and moons. There was a wooden sign by the entrance advertising a wide variety of mystical and magical wares and experiences. 

‘Mother Magic’ it was called, ‘The Home for all Those Who Seek.’

“Absolutely not.” Mark planted his heels firmly into the rotting wood of the pier as Jaemin attempted to drag him by the arm towards the tent. “I am not getting my future read by some creepy old lady that smells like herbs.”

“Mark come on. You never do anything fun!” Jaemin whined. “I don’t want to go in there alone.” 

“Your idea of fun is so messed up. I just wanted to go to the arcade.” Mark rolled his eyes. 

“Mark, please?! I will do your laundry for a week.” Jaemin clasped his hands and pouted. 

_It’s not a bad deal…_

_Ah fuck it._

“Make it two weeks and we have a deal.” 

“YES! This is gonna be awesome!” Jaemin cheered, thrusting a triumphant fist into the air.

“I am not getting my future read though. This is all you.” 

“Yes, yes, whatever, let’s go!” Jaemin yanked him through the curtains and into the tent. The inside was even more obnoxious than the out. It was a lot bigger than Mark expected, with several other doorways leading off from the main space. Mark didn’t have any desire to know what was behind them.  
Jewelled-toned pillows and blankets were scattered across every free surface. Large bookshelves littered with decorative (maybe?) skulls, candles and books with titles such as ‘Black Magic for Beginners’ and ‘Unfogging the Future’ lined the walls. Mark could have sworn he saw a cat’s tail disappearing into one of the many doorways. 

“Wow, this is amazing!” Jaemin looked around in wonder. “Hello? Is anyone here?” There was a rustling from one of the curtained doorways. A tall woman with a sheet of inky hair and tanned skin emerged, arms laden with jingling bracelets. She smiled, flashing perfect white teeth.  
She reminded Mark of a cat – sly and mysterious. _Fitting._

“Hello, boys. What can I do for you?” She walked forward, dress swirling around her ankles like smoke. 

“Can we have a palm reading please?” Jaemin piped up, thrusting a handful of notes at the woman. She smiled, eyes gleaming at the sight of the money in Jaemin’s fist. 

“With pleasure. Just through here, we will be with you shortly.” She showed them through a nearby curtain into a smaller room. 

“This is so cool!” Jaemin was vibrating with excitement. “I have always wanted to do this!” 

“Bullshit Nana. You just want them to tell you if you are going to date Lee Jeno or not.”

“Hey, not true!” Mark fixed him with an incredulous look. “Okay so maybe it’s a little true but still!” 

“Ugh, whatever. This is stupid anyways. You know it’s all fake, right?”

“Stop being such a party pooper!” Jaemin punched him in the arm.

“Yeah stop being a party pooper.” A new voice called coyly. A boy was standing in the entrance to the room. He looked to be about their age, with cinnamon skin, soft, rust coloured hair and the same elegant features as the woman outside. He flicked his eyes to Jaemin and smiled knowingly. “A non-believer, hey?”

Jaemin sighed exasperatedly. “The worst. I had to bribe him to come.” 

“Jeez, that hurts.” He sounded disappointed but the corners of his rosebud mouth were quirked upwards. 

“I am right here you know?” Mark rolled his eyes. 

“We know.” He smiled now, coming to sit down on the floor behind a low table. He gestured for Mark and Jaemin to copy. “Now what can I do for you?” 

“Just a palm reading please.” Jaemin grinned and shoved his hand in the boy’s face. 

“No problem. I am assuming you won’t be having one?” He shot Mark a sour look. Mark ignored him.  
Taking Jaemin’s hand in his own golden ones, the boy began to trace the lines on Jaemin’s palm. “Mmm interesting. You have a large family?”  
Jaemin nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, we are very close.” That was true. Mark had to listen to Jaemin Facetime his Mum every night even though their University was in the same city as his home. 

He chuckled. “I can see that. Are you looking to get in a relationship? Well, it is going to take some for work on your behalf, but it is going okay so far… um, you will have a sudden change in lifestyle at some point in the next…” he furrowed his brow in concentration, “10 years? Yes, 10 years. It appears that you are creative and enthusiastic it seems, but you sometimes lack focus.” 

“Wow.” Jaemin breathed. Mark sunk lower into the pile of pillows he was sitting on.

He looked up from Jaemin’s hand. “If you want a more in-depth explanation of your future I am more than happy to give you a tarot reading?” 

“Oh uhh, that would be good. Thank you!” Jaemin beamed. “When should I come back?”

“How about tomorrow afternoon. I am booked out for the rest of the day but I can fit you in then I think. If you want a sooner appointment you will probably have to see my sister.” 

“No, no its cool we can come back tomorrow, right Mark?” Jaemin turned to him expectantly. Mark was half-asleep against the pillows at this point, so he nodded without fully comprehending what he was agreeing to. 

“Alright awesome! I will see you then.” The boy showed them to the exit. “My name is Donghyuck by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Donghyuck.” Jaemin shook his hand. Mark grunted and left the tent without saying goodbye. 

 

 

~

 

 

“MARK!” 

Mark nearly fell out of his desk chair. Jaemin barged into his room, slamming the door open. “What the hell Nana?” 

“I need you to come with me to the fortune tellers again.” Jaemin plonked down onto the edge of Mark’s bed. 

“No Jaemin. I am not going back there again.”

“Why not?! I will buy you food~” He grinned and nudged Mark. 

“I am not some loser that you can bribe with food Jaemin.”

“And dessert too. Wherever you choose.”

Mark groaned internally. He hadn’t eaten all day and the promise of free food was so, so tempting…  
“Okay fine.” 

 

 

~

 

 

“Donghyuck we are here!” Jaemin marched through the entrance of the tent, with Mark moping along behind. 

“Hey, Jaemin! I see you dragged the non-believer with you again.” Donghyuck was wearing electric blue eye contacts today. Mark thought that they made his skin look even more golden (not that he was paying attention to that kind of stuff anyway). 

“I was bribed,” Mark said blankly before sitting down in the corner of the room. 

“Nice to know,” Donghyuck smirked. “Okay, so Jaemin. I am going to need you to relax and clear all thoughts from your mind.” They sat down at the low table and Donghyuck took out a pack of beautiful, gold foiled cards, fanning them across the table. “Now select three.”  
Jaemin pulled three cards from the deck and placed them face up on the table. “Interesting… so here,” he pointed to the first card, “we have the World card. It means that you will be travelling in the future and you will feel a sense of accomplishment and completion soon. And here we have the Lovers card. You are either in love now or will be soon… I take this is a good thing?” Donghyuck smiled at Jaemin’s overjoyed expression. Mark rolled his eyes.  
“Ok and lastly the Nine of Cups. You will have fulfilment and success but be careful about getting too greedy as it can ruin everything.” Donghyuck finished, stacking the cards again. 

“That’s so cool! Right, Mark?” Jaemin shot him an expectant glare.

“Yeah, yeah, sure whatever you say.” He waved his hand and went back to staring into the distance. 

“Jaemin I hope that the love card isn’t about Mark, because if it is I feel so sorry for you.” 

“Oh, god no, thank the lord. He is just my moody roommate.” 

“Jeez, thanks, guys. Love you too.” Mark whined. He wasn’t a bad guy, he just didn’t like being dragged along to things he wasn’t interested in, even if there was food involved.

“He thinks it’s dumb.” Jaemin sighed in exasperation. 

Donghyuck was silent for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought. “Mark come here. I am reading your cards whether you like it or not.” 

“What? But I haven’t even paid for it?” 

“I don’t care. Come here now.” Donghyuck stood up and took Mark’s hand, pulling him over to the table. “Pick three cards.” 

Mark rolled his eyes and pulled the first three off the deck. “Happy? Can I go now?” 

“Not until I have read them.” Mark groaned. Donghyuck flipped a card. “Two of Swords. Inability to make a decision or indecisiveness. You will have a difficult decision coming up in the future and you will struggle to decide what is right. Next, Three of Wands. Your hard work will pay off in the end if you continue to do the right thing. And last, the Lovers.” 

“That doesn’t make sense, Mark is the most single person I have ever met,” Jaemin interjected.

“I wonder why,” Donghyuck smirked at Mark’s abhorrent expression. “Just kidding calm down. Anyways, you will come across love very, very soon, and in a place that you least expect it.” 

“Okay…” Mark eyed Donghyuck suspiciously. “None of this is real anyway.”

“Sure Mark, sure.” The fortune teller smiled knowingly. 

Jaemin thanked Donghyuck excessively before exchanging numbers and taking their leave.  
Mark was never going to change his opinion on the matter, but he found that some part of him (a very small part) was wishing that the cards would come true. He fell asleep that night wondering if the predictions were true and if so when they would happen.

 

 

~

 

 

“MARK!” Jaemin burst into his room. It was nearly midnight and Mark was mere seconds away from drifting into a sweet, sweet slumber when his hyperactive roommate burst through the door. 

“Jesus Jaemin.” Mark nearly fell out of his bed trying to sit up. “Why do you keep doing that!?” 

“Jeno said YES!” Jaemin cried before collapsing onto Mark’s bed in an enamoured heap. 

“What do you mean Jeno said yes?” What could possibly be so important that Jaemin had to interrupt Mark’s precious sleep? 

“Jeno agreed to go out with me! Isn’t it awesome! I decided to put my fate in the cards and go for it, and Donghyuck’s predictions were right Mark!”

“Really?” Mark couldn’t believe it. “I am happy for you and all, but I can’t believe that a piece of shiny cardboard just predicted the future.” 

“The proof is in the pudding Mark. Maybe your predictions will come true too.” Jaemin clutched his phone to his chest. “You wanna play Fortnight? I am too excited to sleep now.”

“Well, there is no way I am going to be able to sleep after that – so sure.”

 

 

~

 

 

“Bro I regret playing Fortnight.” Mark was half-dead. It may be the summer holidays, but he still needed his rest to function. 

“Same.” Jaemin looked nearly as bad as Mark. “Coffee?”

“I thought it was a given.” 

The sorry duo trudged through the empty university campus towards a popular coffee shop that they often liked to come when pulling all-nighters for study. 

Mark watched his feet as they dragged along the concrete, filthy white trainers practically melting against the boiling tarmac. It must have been a bazillion degrees outside and it was only lunchtime. He wasn’t looking where he was going as he entered the coffee shop, and he nearly knocked into a waitress carrying a tray of iced beverages.

“Two iced Americanos, double shot please,” Mark mumbled to the barista, barely making eye contact.  
A tanned hand smacked an extra ten-dollar bill against the countertop. “Make that three.” 

Mark snapped out of his sleep-deprived haze to find Donghyuck standing beside him, grinning. He wasn’t wearing contacts or extravagant clothing today, like he had when they had last met.  
In fact, dressed in simple street clothes and amber hair pulled back with a cap, Mark was shocked by how attractive the fortune teller was.  
“Hey, Mark. Predictions come true yet?” 

“Wha- uh no. Jaemin’s did though. Pure coincidence.” Mark pointed to where his friend had passed out in the window seat of the shop whilst waiting for Mark to order. 

“That’s great! I will talk to him when he returns to the land of the living.” He gave Mark a very obvious I-told-you-so look. 

“Okay, fine. You got lucky this time.” There was no way that Mark was letting Donghyuck win this. 

“Luck! I will show you luck. Just you wait, Mark, by the end of the day, at least one of your cards will come true or I am revoking my status as the best fortune teller in the country.” 

“What is that supposed to mean.” He grabbed his coffee from the barista and walked over to where Jaemin was asleep in his chair. 

“You and I are going to spend the day together and if one of your fortunes comes true you have to do anything I say for a week.” Donghyuck held out his hand.

“Deal.” Mark shook his hand. “But if one of them doesn’t come true then you have to be my slave for a week.” He scrawled a quick note on a napkin for Jaemin when he woke up and left the coffee shop, slurping his drink. 

“Where to first, oh wise one.” Mark mock bowed. 

“Can you drive?”

“Yes, but I don’t have a car.”

“No need, I have it covered.” Donghyuck turned on his heel and strode down the street.

“What? Donghyuck!” He ran after the smaller male. 

 

 

~

 

 

“Et voila!” Donghyuck pulled the dust cloth off of the car. It was beautiful, a vintage BMW with a red paint coat and shiny wheels. 

“Wow, it’s gorgeous! Where did you get something like this?” Mark ran a hand down the hood of the car. 

“It was my uncle’s. He gave it to my sister and I before he moved to Costa Rico but neither of us can drive so it doesn’t really get used.”

Mark slid into the driver’s seat and turned on the engine, relishing the smooth purr of the engine as he turned the key in the ignition. “Where to Donghyuck?” 

“There is a pretty lit party happening down at the beach right now and I happen to have an invite. Wanna go?” 

“You sold me at beach.” Mark grinned and pulled out of the garage. He had been longing to go to the beach as soon as the holidays had started but he had been a bit preoccupied with Jaemin and his endeavours.

“So, Mark, what do you do?” Donghyuck leant back in the passenger seat, putting his hands behind his head. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

“You know, are you in school? Do you have a job? that kind of stuff. I know nothing about you other than the fact that you are a stubborn ass.”

“Ouch. I will overlook that one just this once because you have a cool car and I am driving it but anyways, my name is Mark Lee, I am 20 and I currently studying journalism and communications at SMU.”

Donghyuck laughed. “Nice to meet you, Mark Lee, my name is Donghyuck Lee and I am 19. I dropped out of school in the tenth grade and now run a fortune-telling business with my sister. I want to be a singer.”

“A singer? That’s unexpected.” Mark leant back in the chair. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Mark protested quickly. “I just meant that you seem too… _normal?_ To be a celebrity I mean.”

“But normal enough to read people’s fortunes for a living.”

“Well… yeah? I guess.” 

“So stupid.” Donghyuck grinned and laughed loudly, wind from the open window ruffling his amber hair.

“How did you even get into fortune telling anyways? It’s not exactly a mundane job choice.” 

“My sister had a boyfriend who was a part of a circus and he kind of got us into the business. Our family was always interested in spirituality and ‘magic’ of sorts, so it was pretty easy.”

“Cool.” Mark pulled over into a car park. “We’re here.”

 

 

~

 

 

The party on the beach was ‘pretty lit’, as Donghyuck would say. At this point, Mark had forgotten about his lack of sleep and was dancing his life away to the heavy techno music with a stranger that he had never seen before in his life.

“This. Is. AWESOME!” Mark yelled as a bunch of random people cheered along with him. 

“I am glad you are enjoying yourself.” Donghyuck bounced over, drink in hand. 

“I don’t think I have ever felt this wild in my whole life.” Mark threw his hands in the air and jumped in a circle.  
“If this is your idea of wild then your life must be pretty damn boring,” Donghyuck smirked.

“It is. I just study all day and complain to Jaemin about how bored I am.”  
“Sounds awesome.” Mark rolled his eyes.  
“Tell me about it.”

Donghyuck tossed his drink to the side and held out a hand. “Want to go somewhere? I can show you what a _really_ good time feels like.”

Mark grinned, abandoning all common sense. He took Donghyuck’s golden hand in his own and allowed himself to be dragged off towards the pier. 

~  
It was a long drop off the end of the pier. The sun was setting now and it had turned the water a silky indigo colour.  
Donghyuck sat down on the edge of the pier, dangling his legs over the edge. The rays of the setting sun-stroked along the younger male’s hair and face, setting his amber colouring on fire and turning his chocolate eyes a molten gold. 

“Is this the good time you were talking about?” Mark sat down beside the other. 

“Just you wait Mark. It will happen soon.” Donghyuck smiled knowingly. He really was very pretty in this light. Mark was surprised that he hadn’t noticed it before. 

Unfortunately, Mark’s mouth had a mind of its own today, and it blurted: “you’re pretty.” 

Donghyuck blushed, rosy tint on his cheeks matching the red of the sky. “Thanks. You’re not too bad yourself.” 

“Well… you know… uh.” Mark mumbled, immediately losing his ability to form words at the sight of Donghyuck blushing so cutely.  
The universe was working against him today. Those stupid tarot cards and their fake magic were performing some psychological trick on his brain. 

“How are the predictions going?” Donghyuck must have been a mind reader too. 

“What? Oh uh. Nope, nothing. Stupid cards aren’t working.” Mark laughed nervously, wiping his sweaty palms on his shorts. It was still boiling hot out despite the rapidly approaching night. 

“Oh, I see.” Donghyuck looked down, something that could only be described as disappointment colouring his expression. Mark’s chest panged. He shouldn’t be feeling like this. He _wanted_ to win the bet. He _wanted_ to prove Donghyuck and his dumb tarot cards wrong. But why did it hurt to see Donghyuck sad?  
Mark couldn’t deal with this right now. 

“I, uh, have to go to the bathroom?” Mark got up and sprinted away, leaving Donghyuck sitting alone on the edge of the pier. 

Panting, Mark locked himself in a nearby port-a-potty and took out his phone. There were 4 missed calls and several angry text messages from Jaemin about being left alone in a coffee shop. he pressed the call button. 

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

_“Mark? Where have you been? Why didn’t you wake me up?”_ Jaemin’s voice came down the line, borderline angry. 

“Jaemin not now I am having a crisis.” Mark sighed, running his fingers through his salty hair. 

_“The Mark Lee? Having a crisis? That doesn’t have anything to do with school? Unheard of.”_

“Shut up Nana and help me.” 

_“Well, tell me whats wrong already.”_

“It’s Donghyuck. I feel weird when I look at him. He is really pretty all of a sudden and I can’t talk and yeah.” Mark stuttered. The butterflies in his stomach were working themselves up into a hurricane and he thought he was going to throw up. 

_“So is this you realising that the tarot cards are true? Donghyuck was right?”_

“But he _can’t_ be right!” Mark was pretty much whining like a petty child at this point. “They are just pieces of shiny cardboard!” 

_“Well, have you ever thought that maybe you want the cards to come true? Maybe you like Donghyuck?”_

“What? No way. That’s not possible~” Mark’s mind drifted back to a sunlit Donghyuck on the end of the pier. He shook his head. “Nope. Absolutely not.” 

_“Sounds to me like you are in denial Mark.”_ Why did Jaemin always have to be the voice of reason? 

“I am not in denial. I am just confused.” 

_“Then stop talking to me and go figure it out! You are interrupting my date with Jeno!”_ Jaemin hung up, leaving Mark to listen to the dial tone. 

__

__

__~_ _

__

__

__“Ah, you're finally back! Just in time too.” Donghyuck was still sitting on the end of the pier. The sun had set now, the moon casting the horizon in a silvery glow._ _

__“Just in time for what?”_ _

__“You’ll see.” Just as the words left Donghyuck’s mouth there was a whistling noise and then an enormous bang. Mark screamed and panicked so much that he fell off the edge of the pier and into the water. He hit the surface with a loud smack and pain tingled along his entire right side. The water was still warm from earlier and he treads water as he tried to regain his breath. Up above another loud bang sounded and a burst of bright blue light lit up the inky sky. Fireworks.  
Mark laughed and floated onto his back as the colours exploded above him, sparks of red and green and gold showering down from the stars. _ _

__There was a loud yell followed by a splash of indigo water as a screaming Donghyuck landed in the water a few meters away. He was holding a life preserver._ _

__“Mark what the hell! You scared me to death!” He cried, paddling over to where Mark was floating._ _

__“Sorry, but it was your fault for not telling me what was going on.” They lay on their backs together, held up by the life preserver._ _

__The fireworks reflected across the water, including the droplets on Donghyuck’s skin and hair. he looked like a living rainbow, wild and breath-taking._ _

__“It’s gorgeous!” Donghyuck cried, splashing about. “Yes. Yes, it is.” Mark smiled, feeling more at ease than ever before.  
Donghyuck looked over, something warm and pure radiating from his expression. Mark couldn’t take it anymore. _ _

__“Hey, Donghyuck?”_ _

__“Yeah?”_ _

__“Say, hypothetically speaking, the tarot predictions were to come true… how would I know?” He asked tentatively._ _

__“Well… you would feel like something has clicked, hypothetically speaking of course. Sometimes it happens gradually, but it can also happen almost immediately…” he trailed off. Mark had pulled himself upright and was now paddling closer and closer to Donghyuck, eyes flickering down to his lips._ _

__“And say, hypothetically, if I was to feel that click. What would I do then?” he was almost whispering now, barely audible over the sound of the fireworks above._ _

__“Maybe, uh…” Donghyuck’s pink tongue darted out, licking his lips. “You could tell someone?”_ _

__“Donghyuck.” They were wrapped in one another’s arms now, relying solely on the life preserver to keep them afloat._ _

__“Yes, Mark?” His voice wavered, ever so softly._ _

__“I feel it.”_ _

__Mark pressed his mouth against Donghyuck’s, savouring the sweet and salty taste. His lips were warm and slightly chapped from the heat and ocean water. It was a bit awkward due to the fact that they were floating but Mark couldn’t care less.  
After a few moments, he pulled away reluctantly and stared uncertainly into the younger’s eyes. _ _

__“So…”_ _

__“So, I won the bet?” Donghyuck grinned and Mark felt like he was going to drown all over again._ _

__“I guess you did, yeah. Stupid cards.” Mark didn’t really mean it anymore._ _

__“Shut up and kiss me you non-believer.” Donghyuck threw his hands around Mark's neck as he obliged. Mark smiled against the fortune teller’s lips._ _

__

__The fireworks continued above, showering the lovers in sparks of colour. Hypothetically speaking, if it was real, Mark could say that this moment was made of magic._ _

__

___Stupid cards._ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on twitter :) [@valenlimes](https://twitter.com/valenlimes)


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